On December 9, 1861, the U.S. Congress created the Joint Committee on the Conduct of War. Known as the War Committee, this group of individuals was established to serve as a check on the executive branch’s handling of the Civil War.

The War Committee was comprised with members who appeared critical of President Abraham Lincoln and his administration’s management of the war. They monitored military progress very closely. In addition to this task, they investigated fraudulent war contracts, as well as the mistreatment of prisoners and soldiers alike.

One of the major critiques that the War Committee had of the Lincoln administration’s management of the war had to do specifically with the concept of slavery. In 1861, when the Civil War began, the true force behind the struggle was the Union's goal to reunify the states. The fact that the abolition of slavery was not at the forefront of the war was unacceptable, according to the War Committee. However, as the battles ensued, the face of the war changed, and the main purpose became the obliteration of slavery.

Despite the creation of the Joint Committee on the Conduct of War, its members proved to be less than helpful when it came to the President's military strategy as it pertained to the Civil War. Although the committee was vested with the power to monitor military progress, its members lacked the military skill required to truly assist in the Union war effort.